François Hollande: EU needs to ‘understand its shortcomings’

PARIS — French President François Hollande pledged on Friday to jumpstart talks about reforming the European Union, saying there was a need to “understand [Europe’s] shortcomings” after British voters opted on June 23 to leave the EU.

Speaking after a three-hour crisis meeting with top ministers he had summoned to the Elysée Palace, Hollande said the U.K. vote left Europe facing “an immense danger.”

He said France would push for initiatives on Europe’s defense and security “to protect its borders and deal with its enemies,” as well as on tax and social harmonization, and strengthening the eurozone notably by improving its “democratic governance.”

France, he said, has a “particular responsibility,” because it “is at the heart of Europe, wanted it and built it.”

Hollande said he would travel to Berlin on Monday to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and perhaps Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, to prepare the agenda of a summit of EU leaders set for next Tuesday and Wednesday.

“Europe must push forward projects, and not get lost in procedures,” Hollande said. “It must decide quickly wherever it is expected to, but must once and for all leave to nation states what is under their competence.”

The French president also insisted that France would continue to work with the U.K., “a friendly country,” and that the “close ties” between the two countries would be maintained, notably in the defense area.

Before he spoke, French political leaders on the left and right had already rushed to explain why the U.K. vote confirmed everything they had always been saying or advocating.

A visibly triumphant Marine Le Pen, the leader of far-right National Front, congratulated Boris Johnson on his leadership of the Leave campaign and asked for a referendum to be held in France. The U.K. vote shows that “there is another Europe than the European Union,” she said.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the main leader of France’s far-left, who intends to run for the presidency next year, saluted “the beginning of the end of an era” and warned: “the EU, we change it or we leave it.”

According to current polls, Le Pen and Mélenchon together would garner the support of about 40 percent voters in the presidential election.

Alain Juppé, the current favorite in the mainstream conservative party’s primary, said Friday morning that Europe would be “obviously weakened” by the U.K. exit, and asked for a “new chapter” to be written: The EU, he said, must stop talking about enlargement, focus on its bare essentials, and take care of its borders.

But “nothing will move,” Juppé said, “without a new alliance between France and Germany.” That is difficult, he said, as long as France is perceived as weak, and its voice isn’t heard anywhere in European decision-making circles.

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them

It’ll be beautifully ironic if the EU implement a shed load of reforms because we’re out.

Posted on 6/24/16 | 1:58 PM CET

Mike

First things first: an efficient and motivated Administration. EU Staff Regulation reform ASAP. No longer jobs-for-life similar to the French “fonctionnaire” anno 1950.

Posted on 6/24/16 | 1:58 PM CET

Me

UK: reform or we leave
EU: No chance, don’t let the door hit you ass on the way out
UK: Leaves
EU: We must reform to avoid contagion

Me: You couldn’t make it up 🙂

Posted on 6/24/16 | 2:10 PM CET

Pexi

Reforms… Such as this in France…no thanks…puppets like you must step down… People have more than enough of incompetent liars like you

Posted on 6/24/16 | 2:35 PM CET

Tom Cullem

As always, a day late and a dollar short. All this proves is that the only language politicians understand is losing. Maybe at this point the EU will take its fingers out of its ears.

I wonder if that proposal to impose mandatory migrant quotas on EU member states and levy a 250,000 euro fine for every migrant Brussels says a country must take, but doesn’t, is still on the summit’s agenda?

If not, the rest of Europe can thank Britain for getting it axed.

The EU knew from 2013 on that a huge migrant crisis was shaping up, and not only didn’t take steps to secure its external borders then, but still hasn’t. It allowed Merkel to run Greece into the ground, ditched all its “principles” in that hideous deal with Turkey, and now will give 79 million Turks visa free travel in Schengen by October thanks again to Merkel – many of those will seek asylum rather than going home to Turkey when their 90 days are up.

Bad decisions and huge errors down the line . . . and now they are shocked, SHOCKED! that they just couldn’t keep getting away with it.

Turkey and the migrant crisis were the last straws. Blame Merkel, not Farage.

Posted on 6/24/16 | 3:15 PM CET

Walter S

A bureaucracy is incapable of understanding and incapable of meaningful reform. From time to time you mistreat the whole thing down and start fresh (if anything it was doing is even still worth doing), or the whole thing gets more and more bloated and corrupt until the cancer consumes its host.

The UK just did the rest of Europe a huge favor, leading the way out. Glad to hear France will soon Frexit and I know there’s another four countries at least eager to exit as well.

Posted on 6/24/16 | 3:31 PM CET

me

@Tom Cullem

Give it up Tom it is done.

Posted on 6/24/16 | 3:44 PM CET

OldStone50

Le Pen: I hate my house; let’s burn it down and fight with the neighbors
Mélenchon: I hate my house; let’s burn it down and fight with the neighbors
Juppé: We must make the house better; let’s keep it like it is and fight among ourselves and with the neighbors

If this is the best Europeans can do, it’s pretty doggone pitiful.

Posted on 6/24/16 | 4:03 PM CET

Mell

Let’s face it, if Brexit hadn’t happened, it’d be business as usual in the EU Cabal. Even now…I don’t know if I believe the “we will do better”. And no one should be surprised by the market volatility & other negatives. Markets don’t like change, for one. And secondly, there are a lot of people, companies and organizations invested in making the repercussions for Brexit strong enough to dissuade other countries from leaving.

$89 an hour! Seriously I don’t know why more people haven’t tried this, I work two shifts, 2 hours in the day and 2 in the evening…And i get surly a chek of $1260……0 whats awesome is Im working from home so I get more time with my kids.
Here is what i did